Dáil Éireann Debate, Wednesday - 2 June 2004
226 Mr. R. Bruton asked the Minister for Justice, Equality and Law Reform the entitlements of adoptive parents to leave for the purpose of undergoing the various preparatory requirements in advance of adoption and in the period after adoption; and her views on whether the present system gives adequate opportunity to adoptive parents to make time available for their adopted child. [16771/04]
View answerThe Adoptive Leave Act 1995 was introduced to provide an entitlement to leave from employment similar to maternity leave for an adopting mother after the placement of a child into her care. The Act provides an employed adopting mother or sole male adopter with 14 weeks adoptive leave, attracting payment of Department of Social and Family Affairs benefit, commencing on the date of placement and an optional eight weeks unpaid additional adoptive leave, some or all of which may be taken prior to placement in the case of a foreign adoption.
The Adoptive Leave Bill 2004, which is progressing through the Seanad, seeks to amend the 1995 Act to apply, where appropriate, to adoptive leave the recommendations made by the working group on the review and improvement of the maternity protection legislation. The recommendation to increase the periods of adoptive leave from ten to 14 weeks and unpaid additional adoptive leave from four weeks to eight weeks was implemented shortly after the working group completed its deliberations.
In addition, the Adoptive Leave Bill incorporates a provision to further increase the adoptive leave period by two weeks to 16 weeks, as approved by the Government last October. The increase in adoptive leave is linked to the proposed reduction in the Maternity Protection (Amendment) Bill 2003 of the compulsory pre-confinement period of maternity leave. Once the two Bills are enacted, both natural and adopting mothers will be able to avail of 16 weeks leave with payment of Department of Social and Family Affairs benefit from the time a child is born or placed into their care.
The Bill also provides for a new entitlement for adopting parents to time off from work, without loss of pay, to attend the pre-adoption classes and interviews which they are obliged to attend as part of the adoption process. This new entitlement will better facilitate prospective adopting parents in meeting their work commitments while also attending the required elements of the preparatory and assessment process for adoption. I am satisfied the provisions of the Bill will offer improved employment protection and greater flexibility to employed adopting parents throughout the adoption process from the preparation stages through to placement and the during the first months after a child is received into the family.
